Subwoofer not very powerful; distorts. Right-hand speaker is hardwired to sub. No remote.

Bottom Line

The XPS 2.1 50 is certainly affordable for a system with a subwoofer, but Hercules has made better-sounding speakers—for exactly the same price.

Guillemot's Hercules brand is no stranger to budget 2.1 speaker sets. The Hercules XPS 2.1 50 sells for $69.99 (list), a price that is rare for decent-sounding stereo speakers of any kind and almost unheard of for sets that come with a subwoofer. Guillemot's similarly named, identically priced Hercules XPS 2.1 Lounge speaker system has a subwoofer that pushes out respectable low end, but the company's latest effort lacks power. While it is visually more pleasing than the XPS 2.1 Lounge, the XPS 2.1 50 distorts at high volumes, and the subwoofer can handle low frequencies only at moderate to low volumes. This speaker set may look nice, but its older brother is the superior budget purchase.

Ergonomic design has never been a strength of Hercules budget sets, but the XPS 2.1 50 at least improves upon the XPS 2.1 Lounge's looks. Each 7.9-by-2.3-by-2.2-inch (HWD) satellite speaker is made of black plastic with a glossy front-panel finish that houses a single orange driver behind a metallic grille. One move Guillemot consistently makes that drives me batty is hardwiring the speaker cables. In this case, the XPS 2.1 50's right-hand speaker is hardwired to the subwoofer. For some people, this will present problems: If your desk doesn't have a hole large enough for the speaker to pass through, the hardwired cable will have to run over the front of the desk, which is tremendously annoying and will greatly decrease the amount of slack on the cable. The right-hand speaker has a volume/power knob on its front face, and another hardwired cablethe 3.5mm audio input that connects to your computeron its rear panel. The left-hand speaker can be unplugged from the subwoofer at any time, making placement much easier. Why didn't Guillemot simply do this for both speakers? Another gripe: The speakers are built tall and narrow, and are unusually lightweight (about half a pound), so they are easy to topple accidentally.

Along with the connections for the satellite speakers, the rear panel of the black, wooden subwoofer, which measures approximately 9 by 6 by 8.5 inches (HWD), houses the AC input (a power adapter is included), a power switch, and a bass volume knob. It would be nice if the bass knob were on the front face of the subwoofer, but that's a minor complaint. A more serious one is that the knob needs to be turned well below halfway if you wish to hear bass-heavy music without distortion. A remote control would have been nice a nice addition, but its absence is surely part of what keeps the cost down.

All songs with powerful low end, such as "Silent Shout" by The Knife, or even rock songs with more standard bass performance, like Blitzen Trapper's "Miss Spiritual Tramp," present distortion issues for the XPS 2.1 50. This was never a problem with the XPS 2.1 Lounge speakers, so I was a bit surprised to encounter it here. The subwoofer produces smooth low end that's pleasant and full at moderate levels. But if you ever want to use these speakers for a party, the bass will need to be turned down to a level that nearly eliminates the sub's presence. The satellites, paradoxically, sound far too bright and tinny when the sub is out of the picture, so this set will really work well only at moderate listening levels.

Normally, this is where I'd say, "Well, at $70, these speakers are still a deal, and if you want booming low end, you'll need to spend more money." Instead, I'll simply point you toward the less attractive but better-performing Hercules XPS 2.1 Lounge set, which can reproduce low end without heavy distortion and costs just as little as the XPS 2.1 50.

Hercules XPS 2.1 50

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